


If There Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked then I Must Be the Goddamn Devil

by Glitter_Bug



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pining, Recovery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:14:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26155576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glitter_Bug/pseuds/Glitter_Bug
Summary: Billy always thinks with his dick, and his dick was having a total epiphany.But then Billy got his brain involved. Remembered it was not such a bright idea to be so openly gaga over another boy. Not in this hick town. Not with Neil breathing down his neck every damn day.So between them, his dick and his brain made a deal. Made some rules.He could stare if he combined it with a sneer.He could touch if he combined it with a shove.He could let as many ‘pretty, princess, sweetheart’s drip from his tongue as he wanted, as long as his tone stayed harsh and his eyes never gave away the truth.And as much of a punk ass rebel as he was, Billy knew how to follow the kind of rules that kept him alive.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Comments: 19
Kudos: 199





	If There Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked then I Must Be the Goddamn Devil

**Author's Note:**

> Minimal warnings- some swearing, very brief implication of Neil Hargrove’s abuse and Steve’s reaction to his own dad.  
> Please let me know if I forget to tag/mention anything.

Billy Hargrove fell in lust with Steve Harrington from the very first moment he saw him.  
That incredible hair?  
Those big brown Bambi eyes?  
That ass in those jeans?

Yeah, Billy always thinks with his dick, and his dick was having a total epiphany.

But then Billy got his brain involved. Remembered it was not such a bright idea to be so openly gaga over another boy. Not in this hick town. Not with Neil breathing down his neck every damn day.

So between them, his dick and his brain made a deal. Made some rules.

He could stare if he combined it with a sneer.  
He could touch if he combined it with a shove.  
He could let as many ‘pretty, princess, sweetheart’s drip from his tongue as he wanted, as long as his tone stayed harsh and his eyes never gave away the truth.

And as much of a punk ass rebel as he was, Billy knew how to follow the kind of rules that kept him alive.

He was doing pretty well at toeing his own lines until Steve had to be involved with Max and whatever goddamn crazy business she’d gotten herself all wrapped up in.

Had to be a part of the reason that Neil got all riled up. Had to be there when he went to get Max. Had to lie. Had to be the one standing in the way when Billy lost all control.

Had to suffer because Billy is a total pathetic fucking psycho who’s just going to become an abusive asshole like his dear old dad.

After Billy wakes up, after he shakes away the grogginess and the aches in his body and the thumping in his head, after he stumbles his way home, after he takes his second round of punishment from Neil. After all of that Billy makes some new rules.

Well one new rule

Stay the fuck away from Steve Harrington.

And it works pretty well for the most part.

When he hears that Steve is bringing the curly haired nerd to the Snowball Dance, Billy drops Max as far from the door as he dares and speeds on out of there without a backwards glance.

When he hears Max tell Susan that Steve’s giving her a ride to the arcade, Billy hides in his room and wills himself not to open the curtains

When he hears that Steve’s working in an ice cream parlour dressed as a sailor he damn near pulls his dick off thinking about it but he doesn’t go near.

And it was working. Out of sight, out of mind. Or the first part at least.

Billy had reckoned without interdimensional monster possession though.

Because it turns out that one sure-fire way of attracting Steve Harrington’s attention is to sacrifice yourself for a psychic kid, fight off a hideous mass of tentacles and goo, and nearly bleed out and die on a grimy mall floor.

And it turns out that it’s pretty hard to stay away from a guy when you’re incapacitated in a hospital bed and he’s pretty insistent on taking care of you. It’s almost impossible to stay away from that guy when he says things like:

‘This town’s got some really weird shit Hargrove, and no one should deal with it alone.’  
And  
‘I’d say we’re pretty even now anyway, you broke a plate on me, I crashed a car into you.’  
And  
‘It’s OK Billy, you’re OK now, shhh now, it’s over, you’re safe, I promise you’re safe.’

And that’s how Billy got to know Steve.

Got to know that he’d stay by your side and watch hours and hours of late night teleshopping because you just can’t sleep.

Got to know that he’d hold out his hand for you to grab when it was the mean nurse doing the blood tests.

Got to know that he had a spare room and the world’s biggest heart and an unerring sense for when someone might need both of those things.

So Billy moved in and learnt a few more things about Steve Harrington.

Learnt that Steve not only owned multiple ABBA records but could and would sing and dance his way through them all.

Learnt that Steve could manage to completely mess up making a PB&J in the morning and then throw together some complicated pasta dish in the evening without even once glancing at a cookbook.

Learnt that the best thing to do after Steve got off the phone to his Dad was for Billy to put on the first ABBA record he found, crank it up as loud as he could and put on enough of a show that Steve’s trembling turned to laughter.

Learnt that the pleading and crying he heard coming from Steve’s room some nights could be stopped entirely by slipping in beside Steve and holding him until he woke up. And that it was generally easier and more efficient to just start the night out in Steve’s bed, with Steve in his arms, just as a precaution.

And then Billy learnt a few more things.

Learnt how Steve’s deep brown eyes would widen when Billy gently placed a hand against his cheek.  
Learnt how soft Steve’s hair felt when Billy cupped his hand against the back of Steve’s head to draw him in closer.  
Learnt how right Steve’s lips felt against his.  
Learnt how good it felt when Steve kissed him back.  
Learnt how it felt to be in love.


End file.
